Japan: Putin’s visit to Tokyo may settle Kuril Islands dispute

Tokyo has signaled it would like Vladimir Putin to finally resolve a territorial dispute and sign a peace treaty 70 years after the end of World War II. The Kremlin said it would welcome dialogue.

Moscow is willing to restart peaceful dialogue with Tokyo to
finally sign a WWII peace treaty, but Russian FM Sergey Lavrov
said that claiming sovereignty over Kuril Islands makes Japan the
only country that questions the results of WWII.

Masahiko Komura, the current vice president of the ruling Liberal
Democratic Party of Japan and a former foreign minister, met in
Tokyo with the Chairman of the Russian State Duma, Sergey
Naryshkin, on Wednesday.

During the meeting, Komura said that Tokyo would like to settle
the issue of the four southern Kuril Islands.

“We would like to sign a peace treaty having the territorial
problem solved. For this we would like President Putin to come to
Japan,” said Komura, adding that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
is “very seriously considering” inviting him.

“Just like before, we absolutely welcome the constructive
attitude of various political parties and forces of Japan to
restart peace negotiations with Russia,” said the Russian
president’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov.

Peskov also said that at the moment “there is no news
regarding the issue” of President Vladimir Putin’s possible
visit to Japan.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry announced plans to organize a visit by
the Russian president by the end of this year. A previous visit,
scheduled for autumn 2014, was disrupted due to Tokyo’s support
for the American-led anti-Russian diplomatic campaign.

Japanese diplomats also revealed that in April PM Shinzo Abe made
US President Barack Obama aware of the Russian leader’s possible
visit.

The Kremlin has welcomed Tokyo’s openness to renewing the
dialogue and would certainly consider Japan’s invitation for
Putin to visit, Peskov said.

On Tuesday, commenting on the disputed island issue, Lavrov said
Japan was the only country that questioned the outcome of WWII.

“We always ask the Japanese: Dear gentlemen, do you recognize
the results of WWII? They answer: "Yes, we do – but not in this
particular issue,” Lavrov said, demanding how in this case
could Tokyo possibly ratify the UN Statute.

Article 107 of the UN Statute maintains that everything done by
the winning nations in World War II is “sacrosanct and
inviolable.”

“Though it is spelled out in different words, the legal
meaning is as follows – do not touch anything,” Lavrov said,
adding that since Tokyo has nothing to object to in the UN
Statute, “Japan is the only country that disputes the results
of WWII, nobody else does it.”

“The results of WWII between Russia and Japan are not
distinguished,” said Yoshihide Suga, Chief Cabinet
Secretary, adding that the Russian foreign minister’s statement
was “devoid of substance.”

Suga expressed confidence that Lavrov’s statement would not
interfere with the meeting of the Russian and Japanese leaders.

“We’re going to persevere in the continuation of negotiations
to resolve the [territorial] allegiance of the islands and sign a
peace treaty,” Suga said.

For the 70 years that have passed since the end of WWII, Russia
and Japan have been unable to sign a peace treaty, though the
countries have been coexisting peacefully.

Diplomatic relations remain tense as Japan refuses to sign a
peace treaty, presenting sovereignty claims over several small
islands known as South Kurils in Russia and as the Northern
Territories in Japan. The Islands are Kunashir, Shikotan, Iturup
and arches of Habomai.

Because of loose definitions in the international treaties signed
at the end of the war, Tokyo demands the return of the islands,
which were captured by Soviet troops in 1945. Russia insists the
islands became a part of the USSR after the war and therefore
Russian sovereignty over this territory cannot be revised.

The talks on a peace treaty were suspended in 2003.

Despite all the odds, investment and trade between the countries
had been constantly developing until Tokyo joined the US-led
anti-Russian sanctions in September 2014 over Moscow’s alleged
involvement in the Ukraine crisis. Japanese sanctions against
Russia targeted leading arms exporters and limited operations
with five Russian top banks, including Sberbank ,VTB,
Gazprombank, Rosselkhozbank and VEB (Vnesheconombank).

The issue of the southern Kuril Islands should also be considered
in the light of the decision of a UN maritime commission in March
2014, which confirmed that 52,000 square kilometers in the middle
of the Sea of Okhotsk in the Far East is now Russian continental
shelf.

The Sea of Okhotsk, a natural border to which from the south are
the Kuril Islands, is extremely rich in natural resources and
hydrocarbon reserves, thus presenting enormous opportunities for
the Russian economy.

The UN decision has also become possible because all of the Kuril
Islands currently belong to Russia.